This is the Internet age, so it's not surprising that one of the first actual DiAural products is being released only online. (Evett and Shaw also have a DiAural speaker for sale, the Pesaro.) Recently…
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Last year, Stereophile's Barry Willis took a trip to Ogden, Utah, to report on what was then a secret speaker project being conducted by Kimber Kable's Ray Kimber and designer Eric Alexander. After informal listening, Willis noted that, while not being able to completely nail down what the "under development" DiAural crossover circuitry was doing, something new was certainly in the air.
Describing the Audio Research Reference Two preamplifier, Michael Fremer writes "Audio Research's first 21st-century, audiophile-quality line-stage preamplifier combines retro-tech vacuum-tube amplification and power-supply circuitry with innovative, remote-controlled gain, balance, tape monitoring, and signal routing. The price is also 21st-century: $9995." Worth every penny? Fremer offers his assessment.
Next, we've got Chip Stern's review of the Rogue Audio 66LSR preamplifier from the October, 2000 issue. Stern writes that "the design/production team at Rogue Audio, veterans all of…
I have been informed that there was a serious error at the shipping department. The September and October issues of Stereophile and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater have been sent via a very slow shipping method. This was due to a misunderstanding between the magazines' new printer and the new subscription mailing house.
The problem has now been cleared up; beginning with the November issue (which will be arriving very soon), you will once again receive your copy each month, in a timely fashion, by airmail.
You will receive the September and October issues, but I'm afraid that they…
It's sometimes amazing how courtroom adversaries can become bosom buddies. This week's example: on May 21, Vivendi Universal SA agreed to acquire Internet music portal MP3.com Inc. for $372 million (423 million euros) in cash and stock—or $5.00/share for MP3.com stockholders. The announcement followed Vivendi's April 5 acquisition of Emusic.com for $24 million. The targeted companies' boards of directors unanimously approved both deals. MP3.com will continue to offer music from non-Universal labels, according to a company press release.
Universal Music Group, Vivendi Universal's music…
John Atkinson's and my collective response was "Good grief!" on hearing that the UK's Haymarket Magazines had purchased Gramophone Publications. Minds boggled at the very idea of the venerable old lady of classical-music criticism getting into bed with the much younger, altogether brasher, and unashamedly populist What Hi-Fi?, market leader among UK hi-fi mags. As Haymarket enigmatically put it, "With its emphasis on in-depth reviewing, Gramophone itself has great synergy with other titles in the Haymarket portfolio, such as What Hi-Fi? magazine."
Further pondering and a few phone calls…
The axeman cometh, and cometh again. Seagram Company's Universal Music Group, now the world's largest music conglomerate after last year's $10+ billion acquisition of PolyGram NV, is decimating its ranks. The company has closed the doors of several formerly independent record labels, fired hundreds of employees, and plans to unload thousands more in the next few months. Employees and artists alike will soon find themselves without labels.
Last Thursday, January 21, about 500 workers in Hollywood, Universal City, and New York were sent home permanently---the first to be cut in a…
We were saddened to learn just this week that F. Alton Everest died earlier in the month. Like many audiophiles, much of what we know about acoustics was gleaned from Everest's authoritative books on the subject, including several editions of his Master Handbook of Acoustics, Critical Listening and Auditory Perception, and Acoustical Techniques for Home and Studio. Everest packed a lot of living into 95 years, earning a BSc in EE from Oregon State and an EE from Stanford. He taught at Oregon State and Hong Kong Baptist Universities, worked in film production for 25 years, and was an…
The 2004 Stereophile Buyer's Guide hits the newsstands this week. Within its 228 jumbo-sized and color-coded pages you'll find listings of every audio component currently available in the US (other than boomboxes and other portable players), along with their specifications and prices. It also includes what we feel is the most complete listing of audio manufacturer websites on the planet.
Each section in our Buyer's Guide is headed by an essay on the basics by veteran audio writer Wes Phillips. In the categories for which we don't yet have listings—cables, audio furniture, portables, and…
Almost every audiophile, whether hobbyist or professional, has taken a stab at building loudspeakers. Combine the fundamentals of cabinetmaking with some basic electronic theory, connect a few good drivers to a well-designed crossover network, and you're on your way to pretty good sound. And now, with widely available resources like crossover design software and high-quality prefabricated cabinets, the task is easier than it's ever been.
Amateurs and would-be professionals alike thus have an excellent chance of producing decent-sounding speakers on their first or second attempts---a fact…
At the recently concluded SAE-CEA Digital Car Conference in Detroit, representatives of the recording industry joined Panasonic for a DVD-Audio love-fest hailing the format as the "in-car music delivery system of the future." Panasonic's automotive electronics division used the conference and exhibition to introduce and demonstrate its first mobile DVD-Audio systems for OEM distribution. The company also hosted seminars exploring how it imagines DVD-Audio will specifically apply to and benefit the automobile industry.
Panasonic's Doug Pergament notes, "Vehicle manufacturers have powerful…